Stoke – Crystal Palace 05/05/2018

It’s do or die for a Stoke side in dire straits with two games remaining in the season. They will face strong opposition in this one as Crystal Palace have been firing on all cylinders lately, all but making them safe from relegation.
Stoke put in a good display against Liverpool in last round’s 0-0 draw at Anfield, but three draws in a row hasn’t been enough to push the side out of the relegation zone. The ‘Potters’ will need a small miracle to stay in the top flight for yet another season as they must win both remaining matches, the last of which is against fellow strugglers Swansea, while Southampton will have to drop points.
The Liverpool game marked Stoke’s first run of twelve winless matches in a single Premier League (PL) season. Their former streak was 11 games – albeit between seasons (late 2011/’12 – early 2012/’13).
Palace have enjoyed a string of good performances over the last weeks, and their form reached a peak with the 5-0 thrashing of Leicester last round. They now have a six-point cushion down to the relegation zone and a win here will secure PL contention for next season.
The Palace fans sang, “There is only one Roy Hodgson” after the Leicester game, and the Palace manager has turned the tide for a side that failed to score in their first seven matches this season.

Players Betting Tips:

Wilfried Zaha is proving pivotal in Palace’s fight for a spot in next season’s PL. It’s four goals in four matches now for their talisman.
Experienced striker Peter Crouch have been called upon with more game time recently. Four PL goals scares no one, but at least he’s found the net against Palace on three occasions before.

Stat Betting Tips:

Seven of Palace’s ten last matches have ended over 2.5 goals, while just three of ten have for Stoke.
Four of the last six games between the sides have ended with the score 2-1 in Palace’s favour.
Palace have yet to suffer a single red card this season.